Liberalism (French: Libéralisme) has been a major trend in Canadian politics since the late 18th century. Canada has the same features of other liberal democracies in the Western democratic political tradition. This article gives an overview of liberalism in Canada. It includes a brief history of liberal parties with substantial representation in parliament.
Liberal parties developed in both the French and English speaking parts of Canada; these developments led to the formation of the Liberal Party of Canada. Liberal parties exist on a provincial level; however, while they mostly share similar ideologies, not all provincial parties are officially affiliated with the federal party.
In Canada, a "capital-L" Liberal refers to the policies and ideas of the Liberal Party of Canada/Parti Libéral du Canada (member LI), the most frequent governing party of Canada for the last century and one of the largest liberal parties around the world. The Quebec Liberal Party (Parti libéral du Québec) combines liberalism with more conservative ideas. Only federal parties are included in the following timeline. For inclusion in this scheme, it is not necessary for parties to have explicitly labelled themselves as a liberal party.
In addition to the federal party, each province and the Yukon territory has its own Liberal Party; however, those in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec are no longer affiliated with the federal party. The British Columbia Liberal Party is notably centre-right and often described as a "free enterprise coalition", with supporters from both the federal Liberal and Conservative parties.[1] Under their system of consensus government, political parties are not recognized in the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories.